Thursday, March 25, 2010

It's time to clear the air. Everyone hears it - you're leaving a party on a bike, and someone's gotta set their drink down and be all like, "You know you can still get a DUI on a bike, right?" Then usually some sort of goofy-ass, disguising-my-gloating-as-a-passing-joke kind of grin.

But as a long-time friend to bicyclists and bicycle transportation, I take these words as a challenge. Not a slap-someone's-face-with-a-white-glove kind of challenge. More a remembering-to-look-it-up-when-you-get-home kind of challenge.

BiUI (not to be confused with BUI, which stands for boating under the influence, and IS a crime) is not punishable by Washington State law. The crux of the matter is whether the vehicle being operated is motorized or not. If your bicycle is not motorized, you will not get arrested.

However, the law does give police the right to take an intoxicated cyclist into custody for safety reasons. If you're zig-zagging across three lanes of traffic, running down someone's grandma, or if you thought you were riding a bike and it was really your neighbors protesting German Shepherd, an officer may transport you him/herself to your destination, take you home, or release you to a sober friend.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Bad Kids Dance Good is a recently-launched database for Seattle music events. The website is young, so now is the time to sign up and claim that username you always wanted - you know, the one that Hotmail suggested you added meaningless digits to the end of.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Rock played a cover of a Sam Cooke song on The Tonight Show last night, with a guitar he allegedly received from Willie Nelson. The song was "You Sway Me," and T.R.'s rendition of it was particularly not-moving, so I decided to make this post into a fleeting tribute to The OLD Rock.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

I'm actually not sure what to call this band right now, because the transition to their new name, PYRAMIDDD, seems to have halted. Or, at least, the title of their Myspace has changed from STARFUCKER//PYRAMIDDD back to just STARFUCKER.

They announced the winning name last October, about five weeks after announcing the re-naming contest to their fans - having a name like Starfucker is okay if you're on the Weeds soundtrack, or commercials for Target and IBM, but it sucks if you're trying to book national tours with other big-name bands. Sellouts? I kinda don't think so.

Starfucker founder Josh Hodges, in an interview with Portland's Local Cut:

"I’ve been poor my entire life. I’ve done every shitty job that you can imagine. I’ve been a security guard, I’ve parked cars, I’ve waited tables, I’ve bussed tables, I’ve sold coffee, I’ve painted houses. I’ve done seriously everything that sucks that you can do. So this isn’t work, it’s not fucking work, and it pays me. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do."

"We're changing our name because it just doesn't make sense anymore. We never thought Starfucker would make it as far as it has, and never had any expectations of success. At this point we need to be able to either put more into the music, or just stop doing it so we can get 9-5 jobs to pay our rent. Right now we're in this bardo where we don't quite make a living off music but we put so much energy into it that we can't put any time in a real job either. We just need to get serious about one or the other. The name has been a problem for us in a lot of ways. We've missed out on opening slots with bands we really like, and we hope to tour Europe soon where there is already a Starfucker. Someone booked us once thinking we were the European Starfucker. The list goes on and on..."

"Band names are usually stupid in the beginning, bus as you grown with a band and its music, the name grows with it too, so it doesn't matter how stupid it is as long as the music can carry it. In our case however, the name is holding us back, which should never be the way it is. Having to put a name on your music or art is necessary, but shouldn't be the focal point. The music or art should speak for itself."

This sounds like something I can support getting behind. This isn't a story about some mega record label and its evil emissaries poisoning the authenticity of a once-sincere group of pop-sensation puppets. Instead, at least for now, it's a group of musicians who want the freedom to do what they like (and are really good at), full time, without having to sell coffee on the side, or paint houses, or bus tables.

And the reason I'm digging this all up months after the name change is because if (IF!) the band ends up transitioning back to their original title, I'd hate to see them get shit for it. They are really nice guys. Trust me.

Monday, March 8, 2010

After becoming visibly upset over a text message conversation at a friend's house in Nashville, TN over the weekend, he retreated upstairs for some time before leaving the house through the backdoor, sitting down in the alley behind the house, taking aim at his heart with his own rifle, and pulling the trigger. Police responded to the 911 call at 1:20pm and Mark Linkous was pronounced dead at the scene.

"... Mark wrote and played some beautiful music, and we're lucky to have it."-Colin Greenwood, bassist for Radiohead

"We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There's a heaven and there's a star for you." -Statement released from Linkous's family by Linkous's manager Shelby Meade